Narcotic dispenser



R. D. MASURE NARCOTIC DISPENSER Dec. 4, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed Jan. 1o, 195o n 8 L 2 .I 3 f f 1 f -R L@ 4 f. JIIUHHWMN@ n .u w l a V.l Vr, 6 J m M V Q a 3 H 6 f ,a f m Z j a .3 L MA 7 no 5\..9 J/ f.o

y I N VEN TOR. Ram/0m llamaray l BY Zed/wz k7 afg# A Ziormeys R. D. MASURE NARCOTIC DISPENSER YDec. 4, 1951 2 SHEETS-f-SHEET 2 I N VEN TOR.

Rwmam 'Ja/vmware @YM/v y Patented Dec. 4, 1951 U-:N-ITED STATE-S PAT ENT -OFFl-CE Nnnco'rrc DISPENSER Ramona D. Masure, JackSOnuiIIeJIa. ,Applicashun-mary1011950, serial No. '137,874

, l ,y This 4invention relates to dispensing apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for dispensing narcotic tablets singly, .and which is so constructed las to:sa-termard agamst removal `of vials .containing large quantities (of tablets by .unauthorized ipersons. j. Anoutstand-ing'objection to common typespf narcotic dispensers is that .they permitdispensing or .removal .of 4#relatively .large lquantities* of .narcotc tablets .ata time. Thus there .is .a constant danger that .supplies of :narcotic .tablets will be stolen .by .narcotic viiends or other unauthorized .persons which,of course, .is dangerous for those taking over-dosagesof these tablets. Also,.it may deplete .the supply of .a .particularnarcotic ,tabletA f :ata time whenit maylbe sorely needed. .An o'bjectof .thepresent 'inventionis to provide a, novel .narcotic .dispenser .which ,permits dispensing of a variety of .narcotic .tabletsn a sani-4 tarymanner and Lin which the various tablets may be quickly .and visually identified and .distingufi'shed Aas well .as counted.

1Afturther db'ject oi 'the .invention is to provide a narcotic dispensing cabinet in which the case 'is so constructed that parts thereof mayfbeselectively'locked 'to insure 'saekeeping of -the drugs and restricted use by patients. n i Astill further `obj ect ofthe 'invention is to provide a narcotic dispensing apparatus capable `of 'storing large quantities of narcotics of .diierent types and which is so constructed .that it may be quickly irelled withanew supply of any desired 'type of tablets. i

@ther obliec'ts .and advantages Vof 'the `present invention `will become. apparent .from .a study c'f the 'following specication taken with Athe .accompanying drawings wherein: K

flfig'urel isaront viewer anar-.octies dispensing case or cabinet "involvinglthe .principles .of the present .invention and shown in the .open position;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken yalong the line 2-'2 of Figure l.; y'

E'gure .Buis an .enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring more .particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the numeral I denotes a case or cabinet for storing `narcotic tablets, 'and 'which may be securely fastened to a wall or other support by means of -bolts Z2, whichfbfolts are inaccessible so I as topreyent unauthorized .removal of the .entire case. VlIvhe case I may be made of any suitable material .such as stainless .'steel, .or perhaps of plastic .Woodfor the like, and is provided Awith :a plurality .of cylindrical .holes 3 which `are .disposed in vertical vspaced relationship and which' provide vertically extending slots 3a at the front of the case. Vials *4 for the narcotic tablets occupytheholes 3, the tablets which they contain being v `visible through ithe transparent rrwalls .of 'v60 gid, .one independ'ently V'ci :the other. ide- 5 Claims. (C1. .31a-A7) 2 the `vials and vthrough the slots 13a, 'so lthat vthe ,supplyfcf the various tablets `within the respec tive vials may be visually determined. Alongside theseslots yon the `front face .of the .interior -cf vthe lcase lthere are disposed graduations :corresponding to the thickness .of .the tablets so 'fthat .the ,-n-.umber :of `tablets remaining Ain any vial A.can .be .counted by matching 'the top tablet with `the number .alongside thereof. ,The :width vvof the rinside of the tube may be of lthe order yof f5 millimetersto accommodate the ccnventionalnarcotic tablet. However, `this dimension maybefincreased or decreased to accommodate :any size tablet 1desired. Y y

The conventional length of Astandard .narcdtic tube yoryial is about H1 millimeters :and usually contains :about twenty tablets. While `it is possible to store `such .vials directly jinto '-.the Jardindrical holes 3 by removing .the :stopper-and inserting :the dispensing lend .through the 'top o1' the cylindricalgholes, such -vials would be unsatisfactory for kbusy surgical wards wherein fa :much larger supply of any .narcotic ,is more desirable. For Athis reason, it .is gpreferred to provide separate fglass tubes or vials 4 of greater .length than the standard ,narcotic :stock tube. The vials 4 areshown closed at the topand openatthe :bottom. In .other -words, the vials occupythe yholes 3 invented position. 'The uacrious vials :are of equal length and of .such diameter as tomaintain the tabletsstacked but :freely slidably therein. In the illustrative embodiment .of the invention ten yials 4 lare shown `in side by' side .relation-.although -of course .the cabinet .may be vmade .fin sizes zto 1holdiany desired number of vials. y

At the .top of the case .or cabinet el there is provideda lid orccver S'Which is pivotally@mounted .by 'a .hinge .6 to nue Vside 'of the case. Lipsior side iianges SaQare-'provided-so as to extendsslightly downwardly alongside the front .and rea-r ..o the case, as shown more .clear-ly in figure 3. When rthe lid is -in the #closed position, its .'hasp l maybe locked .by Aa padlockf, fsouthat the' 1lid Slis locked vofver `the top ends fofy fthe respective vials -4, :as .shown .in vFigure 3. Only the nurse or .person Ain 1clflarge 'of replenishing the supply of narcotic'tabletsmay have the key-to this padl lock :so as tomake it impossible for `unauthorized persons -topullfout an enti-re vial orseveral 4vials filled .with narcotic tablets.

A door .ais jpivotall-y ,mounted by hinges Hl `to the ,ffrontof vthe .case and .is provided Withra hasp Il which may be locked .-bymeansof padlock :l2 requiring neithera diierent key -or fthe same ikey as voadlock .8, las .desired. ,It will :be :noted y:that since the :bottom Afezdge fof theanges 5u, yof 'lid 5 positioned :closely .adjacent 'ithefflp edge of the .door 49 V.when bnth :are .a closedqausition; this .will enable opening fof either lthe .door or sirable since during the day while lid 5 may be locked so as to prevent removal of filled vials of narcotic tablets, yet the door 9 may be left open to enable nurses to dispensesinglevtablets by dispensing means which will be described hereinafter. The nurse in charge may keep the key for lock I2 and leave the cabinet open only at certain times of the day or night.

On the inside panel of door 9, thereV is'supi ported a record card supportI i3 whose lowermost edge is upturned, as shown more clearly in Figure 3, and which support is provided with a plurality of spaced, vertically extending guides I4 for receiving cards I5 therebetween. These cards serve as record cards to indicate any given narcotic vial, for example one in confronting relationship. The narcotic may be identified by a label or number at the top of the card. The patients name and the number of tablets taken byL him for any given period of time, say every twenty-fourv hours, may be recorded. Thus, a convenient record may be provided to 'keep an up-to-jthe-minute count of the number of narcotic 'tablets taken by any individual patient.

On the'bottom shelf of the case I there is supported acup or container I6 for receiving dispensed narcotic tablets. Any suitable dispensing means may be provided for dispensing these tablets singly. A suitable type of dispensing means is `more clearly shown in Figure 3 and comprises a horizontally disposed plunger I'I biased forwardly by a return 'spring I8. An opening I'Idis provided in an intermediate portion of the plunger so` as to register with the open lower end of the vial 4. 'Thus when plunger II vis depressed against the action of spring I8, the tablet resting Within the intermediate opening I Td is pushed along the top surface of the bottom plate I9 until it comes into registry with the outlet opening 20, Yfrom which it drops into the container I6. ofcourse, upon each'reciprocation a single tablet, which is lowermost in the stack, is dispensed. A small weight 2I may be located inv each Vial 4 on top of the column of tablets therein, Yto increase the gravitational pressure on the column and assure positive delivery of a tablet into the opening IId of the plunger.

@In replenishing the vials 4, a vial is removed from the case 'and held substantially horizontal with the smallweight 2| at the open end. Then the open mouth or" the stock Atube in which the narcotic tablets are purchased is placed against the'mouth of the vial 4 and the two tipped up to upright position so that the tablets are transferred in the form of a stack from the stock tube to the vial. It may take several standard tubes to fill onevial. When the vial is full, any convenient narrow object such as the edge ofA a knife or spatula, is held diametrically across the open end,` the vial inverted, and replaced in its properhole, the 'spatula extending through the slot 3a and being held to keep the stack of tablets in place within the vial'until the bottom of the slot 3a is reached, at which point the spatula is Withdrawn. The stack of tablets drops, putting the lowermost tablet within the opening I'Id of the plunger II, in readiness to be dispensed upon reciprocation of the plunger.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an eiflcient, fool-proof and tamper-proof narcotic dispenser for enabling the dispensing of narcotic tablets, singly, in succession, and for preventing the removal of larger quantities, such as complete vals of suchv tablets by narcotic fiends orother unauthorized persons, and-which dispenser is of such construction as to permit storage of a large supply of various types of tablets in a manner so that the supply can be visually determined and depleted supplies quickly replenished for Vany given narcotic; also, wherein a semilocked condition may be provided on the cabinet whereby the narcotic containing vials cannot be bodily removed, whereas the tablets therein may be dispensed individually; also, which provides for sanitary handling of narcotics. Y v

While I have illustrated and described a certain specic embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this is by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of my invention and within the scope of the following claims.

I What I claim as my invention is:

l. Dispensing safe for narcotic tablets comprising a cabinet containing storage and dispensing means for said tablets, said storage means including a vial support in the form of a panel having a planiform front'face and having a plurality of vertical, spaced, parallel, side by side, cylindrical holes therethrough opening in the front face of said panel forming vertical parallel slots in said front face narrower than the diameter of said holes, the upper and lower ends of said holes terminating in parallel planes, individual dispensing plungers for said holes slidable across and against their lower ends, vials of uniform length closed at their upper and, open at their lower ends fitting within said holes, supported by said panel with their lower ends at the plane of the lower ends of said holes, atop closure for said cabinet tting substantially against the upper ends of said vials when closed, to hold them in place, and a lock for said closure.

V2. Dispensing safe as claimed in claim 1, said vials each having a peripheral bead at the closed end resting on said panel. j

3 Dispensing safe as claimed in claimV 1, including a scale for each vial at the front face of said.A` panel in juxtaposition to the corresponding slot, having divisions spaced apart the thickness of a tablet, and a series of ordinals in upwardly ascending order, at equal intervals along said scale vto which the columns of tablets in the respective tubes are referred whereby the number of tablets remaining in anyvial can be definitely ascertained;

A 4. Dispensing safe as claimed in claim 1, including a door enclosing the front face of said panel andalock for said door.

` 5. Dispensing safe as claimed in claim 1said cabinet including a common chamber beneath said dispensing plungers, adapted to house a receiving receptacle. l

' RAMONA D. MASURE.

l REFERENCES CITED The `following,r references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Numbery Name Date 411,123 Harigel Sept. 17, 1889 927,799 Ingle et al. July 13, A1999 1,520,525 Beck Dec. 23, 1.924 2,080,038 Frederickson May 11, 1937 2,221,704 Farley Nov. 12, I1940l y i FoRErGN PATENTS Number Country* Date" 347,816 GreatBritain May '7, 1931- 

